Peter Borchert is back! African Parks Network and 7Beyond Phinda relocate 30 rhinos from South Africa to Rwanda. Shell respond to growing public pressure about the seismic surveys being conducted on South Africa’s east coast. And their response is predictably void of any ethical accountability but will the application for a court interdict be successful? We hope so. Please sign the petition to bring this reckless activity to an abrupt end. See the schedule below to participate in country wide...

Shannon and Simon return from the Okavango Delta and discuss the important of responsible tourism. Thank you to Golden Africa Safaris for hosting us. Invest Bank and United For Wildlife release financial report on the illegal wildlife trade in South Africa. Expeadia Group will no longer support properties that promote animal interactions on their platforms and France bans wild animals in circuses, the mink trade and dolphin shows. Big wins. Conservation International has released a report on...

Lions They are perhaps the greatest character in the brochure for African travel. And in many of the larger parks across the African continent they are not too difficult to see either - could even be described s prolific. In fact many would consider you unlucky to visit Africa and not see at least one on safari. But this perhaps sends a slightly inaccurate message to the world that lion numbers healthy and stable. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth. As much as they are abundant in...

COP26 in Glasgow yields few reasons for optimism as leaders seemingly fall short of authentic accountability yet again. The Shannon Elizabeth Foundation launches new education fund. Merlyn Nkomo joins us in studio to talk about the challenges young Africans face in developing a career in the biodiversity economy and her role in spearheading the One Woman’s Legacy Scholarship Fund.

Will COP 26 bring the urgency we desperately need? The UK has a plan, but how will we hold leaders accountable? Rhino Oz doing well after the world’s first CT scan on a rhino. Care For Wild leading the charge yet again in rhino conservation - please support them if you can! A new study suggests that due to poaching, female elephants are evolving to no longer grow tusks. How is this possible? Najin, the world’s oldest northern white rhino, is retired from the desperate breeding program to save...

WE ARE BACK! And season 2 is looking good - filled with more news, more guests, more interviews, more debate, more insight and more ways to get involved! Today, Shannon and Simon reflect on a visit to Yellowstone and America’s Pacific north West. Should billionaires be going to space when we need to save this planet first? Should donors and NGOs be reevaluating their relationships? We think so… The UK FINALLY lifts its travel ban on South Africa. More poaching arrests in South Africa’s Kruger...

Backlash from last week’s show reminds us that unity in conservation is a win and should be treated as such. With one week to go until the deadline to submit comments to South Africa’s Minister of Forrest, Fisheries and the Environment, we encourage all to support the bill. 138kg of rhino horn seized in Vietnam - and with it 3 tonnes of lion bones. Is this an indication of things to come as lion breeders begin to offload stock en mass ahead of the ban of the captive lion breeding industry  in...

Dr Andrew Muir, CEO of Wilderness Foundation, shares his experience of his time on the high level panel appointed by Minister Barbara Creecy to evaluate new legislation on sustainable use of wildlife in South Africa. We hear the urgent call for unity in global conservation circles to support the policy to ban the captive lion breeding industry. To support this bill, please read the policy document here and submit your support to the minister by July 28, 2021. For more information, please...

This week we answer your burning questions. With questions from around the world, we answer questions like, what are the best conservation books to read and learn more? Should we sell rhino horn stockpiles to wealthy philanthropists, or should we destroy them? Do ivory and rhino burns or crushes work? Should NGOs support or challenge the captive lion breeding bill in South Africa? How do environmental bills get passed into law in the USA and should presidents execute more executive orders?...

South Africa is facing a critical period in conservation legislation reform. 2 months after Barbara Creecy, the minister of the Department of Forest Fisheries and the Environment, released the findings of a high level panel to investigate the contentious intensive captive lion breeding industry and rhino breeding industry, the policy paper has now been released for public comment before being law. It is a convoluted process but it has already sent ripples through the conservation community....

Alleged rhino poaching kingpin Petrus “Mr Big” Mabuza has been assassinated. But what does this mean in the broader rhino poaching war? Early rhino fossils found, furthering the belief that these enormous rhino ancestors were the largest mammals to ever walk the earth. Simon calls for civility in the persistent media attacks against conservation scientists and commentators, even though he himself doesn’t agree with them. We must move beyond the hate and threats of violence if we are to find a...

Are we seeing a wave of optimism in conservation and sustainability circles? A theme winds through this episode as we unpack reasons to be hopeful that things are changing for the better around the world. Peter’s editorial talks about South Africa’s Youth Day being the inspiration for World Day of the African Child - a day that shines. spotlight on th education challenges that still face the continent and how conservation can play a role in this much needed correction. How big are countries...

Inspired by stories like Huberta, the migrating hippo and the elephants trekking across China, Peter’s editorial focuses on the great and mysterious migrations of animals. Simon believes media outlets should be more responsible though and explains how sensationalist media can put wildlife and people at risk. Donkey collagen is a booming industry - and so are the animal welfare issues that come with it. Should social media companies like Facebook do more to prevent the growing number of...

ReconAfrica under investigation by the SEC for misleading investors - could this be the beginning of the end of their controversial exploration in Southern Africa? Electric cars are great, but what do we do with the used and unrecyclable batteries? The container ship burning off the Sri Lankan coast has dumped tons of plastic into the ocean, polluting the Sri Lankan coastline. India reintroduces cheetah into the wild with the help of the Endangered Wildlife Trust from South Africa. South...

Peter’s editorial focuses on World Endangered Species Day. To commemorate the occasion, the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation will be raising funds for Munu, the blind black rhino. The results of The New Big 5 are in! Has your favourite animal made the list? Big cats make the news - a tiger escapes in Texas and lions in a Hyderabad Zoo in India test positive for COVID-19. A mixed bag of rhino news - poaching is up in Botswana, more arrests and convictions in South Africa, Dr William Fowlds leads a...

Captive lion breeders in South Africa begin to prepare a class action suit against the Department of Forest, Fisheries and the Environment.  The Texas bankruptcy court denies the application by NRA’s Wayne le Pierre to dissolve the controversial organisation in the same week that media around the world condemns his shocking trophy hunt of an African elephant. Idaho’s governor, Brad Little passes a shocking bill that promotes the unethical slaughter of 90% of the state’s wild wolves.  Pressure...

Minister Barbara Creecy from South Africa’s Department of  Forest, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) surprised many conservationists with a bold move to ban the captive breeding of lion and rhino. Creecy delivered the long awaited report  during a press conference this past Sunday. Having convened a High Level Panel in 2019, the ministry has examined all available data and accepted the panel’s recommendation to dissolve the captive lion breeding - a deplorable industry fuelling the lion...

Earth Day Round Up! Greta Thunberg goes toe-to-toe with Rep Ralph Norman in a subcommittee hearing in Congress. Shannon thanks everyone for donating on Clubhouse, and we discuss ways that everyone can do their bit. Furch Guitars and Taylor Guitars are moving toward a more sustainable future and are becoming more conscious about the use of endangered and exotic woods in the manufacturing of their guitars - providing yet another way artists and consumers can use the power of their dollar to...

We could be close to getting ReconAfrica to commit to a public panel about their fracking in Namibia and Botswana which is putting the entire Kavango Basin and surrounding communities at a huge risk.In the spirit of corporate colonisation, Total pushes...

Petronel Nieuwoudt and Don English and the other courageous soles presented in this documentary are heroes. Not the kind of fictitious superheroes who wear capes, they are instead the real heroes. The kind that gets scared, that cry, that worry, that...

Simon is becoming a snake wrangler, Shannon has spider bite and Peter decides to stop eating fish. It is also a big week for nature documentaries!My Octopus Teacher wins a BAFTA. We talk about how Seaspiracy exposes the fishing industries.The Last Horns...

According to Peter’s editorial this week in RhinoReview.org, animals are provably worth more alive than dead - throwing a spanner in the works of consumptive use economic arguments. World Bank sees the potential of a conservation economy as it launches...

Peter’s editorial questions the messaging of International Women’s Day when so many women in poverty stricken countries are still so oppressed. We need to do more and conservation can be a major player in correcting gender based violence and gender...

It’s World Wildlife Day and we’ve dedicated our show to a day that reminds us just wonderful the wild world is!Peter’s editorial this week showcases some of the more interesting species on the African continent. From Madagascar’s Aye-Aye to the sex life...

The economics of conservation is a hot topic and we weigh in. We need to protect more habitat and employ more people to protect it - but how are we going to pay for it all?We discuss the possibilities of a reengineered conservation economy as UNEP...